Below is the complete address given by Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald on Saturday, April 25 2026.
Introduction
Fifty-six years ago, mothers leading children by the hand. Pushing prams.
Carrying tricolours and placards.
Singing songs of protest. Of defiance.
Bringing milk and bread to their neighbours.
Women standing fearlessly. Facing down the British army. Broke the Falls Curfew.
That spirit endures.
This is a brave city. It’s seen its share of heartbreak and loss. But it’s the courage of its people, the humour, the resilience that marks this place.
We are proud to be in Ireland’s second city – Béal Feirste – Belfast.
People Are Standing Up
Maybe it’s because of our history and struggles that Irish people have an instinct to stand up for ourselves and for each other.
The people who gathered from homes across Ireland, with tractors, trucks and lorries – tools of their livelihoods.
Their protest was a backlash against fuel prices.
But also, something deeper.
Values that we Irish hold dear. Respect, dignity, fairness – for people who keep the country going. Who provide care, look after families, work every hour to build a better life.
Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael believed they could buy-off workers with half-measures. That they had subdued the ordinary people of Ireland. They were wrong.
People stood up. Challenged those in power. And put them on notice that workers and families can’t take anymore.
Building Ireland’s Future
Ireland’s future will be shaped by the strength and resilience of our people.
We will match that courage with tireless work, purpose, and commitment. To be their voice.
To fight their corner. And never, ever back down.
This is a time for belief. For every person to claim their place in shaping our future.
Catherine Connolly’s election as Uachtarán na hÉireann reflects hope for a positive alternative to politics that has failed generations.
We stand at the crossroads of history. Two Ireland’s come into view.
A partitioned Ireland – of failed politics, self-serving governments, deep-rooted unfairness. Or a better, stronger united Ireland.
Where people come first.
Where workers and families get your fair share.
That’s the Ireland we want, we need, and our people deserve.
An Affordable Life
An affordable life must be the bedrock of that future. Irish families work hard.
You do all the right things. But you are ripped off – left, right and centre.
Exhausted by rising prices. Cutting back on heat, food, on the basics.
Left high and dry by a government that simply refuses to listen.
Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael’s October budget of €9.4 billion left working people worse off, withdrawing vital cost-of-living supports.
They took away energy credits. Piled costs onto struggling families – increased the price of petrol and diesel, property tax and rents, college fees.
And then they tried to fob people off with half measures. Then went on holiday for twenty days.
Nothing for the three quarters of a million households relying on home heating oil. Nothing for households struggling to get by.
No common sense. No urgency. An out of touch government with a surplus of billions. A fraction of that surplus would make a real difference in ordinary people’s lives.
We need urgent action.
An Emergency Budget.
- With a substantial cut to excise, to make fuel affordable, including the complete removal of carbon tax on home heating oil and green diesel.
- Electricity credits worth €400.
- A €500 cost of disability payment.
- Additional support for social welfare, pensioners, child benefit, and fuel allowance.
And there must be immediate relief for taxpayers. For working people.
The USC – the Fianna Fáil tax, introduced when they crashed the Irish economy is a constant drag on your wages. We are calling for a permanent cut in this tax for every worker. Starting with putting €500 back in your pocket.
This must happen now. People can’t wait.
The British government has no interest in funding services or supporting families here. They refuse to cut tax on fuel.
To support households. To fund public services. They abandon workers and families here – a tale as old as partition itself.
Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are very concerned by all of this. Now, not sufficiently concerned to challenge the British government who hold the purse strings. Or to confront the economic vandalism of partition.
But very concerned to have a go at us.
So, for clarity agus mar eolas daoibh, Micheál agus Simon. We take no lecture from you, who believe Ireland stops at Dundalk. No lecture from you, who abandoned the six counties for over a century.
And in case you don’t know – Westminster doesn’t give a damn about the north of Ireland.
That’s why decisions that affect the lives of people who live here must be made here – in Ireland.
A United Ireland
An affordable life. Ensuring people have a home.
That children don’t suffer on waiting lists – people don’t die on waiting lists.
That parents don’t face a battle to get an assessment of needs, a school place, an SNA.
That women and girls are safe on our streets and communities, in our own homes. This is a national project.
Families across the thirty-two counties have a vested interest in ending partition. Unity is the vehicle for a dynamic all-island economy, energy independence, climate justice.
A fully resourced health service. World Class education. Affordable childcare.
A flourishing arts and cultural sector. Equality for communities, for disabled people, for carers.
That’s the opportunity and scale of ambition for a United Ireland.
We respect and value Protestant, Unionist, Loyalist people.
This is your home.
And we want to build Ireland’s future with you – to work constructively together. The leadership of Unionism must work also for progress.
Divisive, rejectionist, sectarian politics must be consigned to history. It has no place in our future.
Casement Park will be built. The diggers are on-site.
The A5 will save lives. Stopping this road is not acceptable.
And we have to deal with the past, with legacy. British government plans to pander to their military lobby are unacceptable and doomed to fail.
There must be a public inquiry into the murder of Seán Brown. And the rights of every survivor and victim across our communities must be honoured.
I really hope as the conversation on unity progresses unionists will see your chance of real wins for your family and communities.
Upcoming elections might return pro-independence First Ministers in Scotland and Wales.
Fingers crossed. The Union is under pressure.
Next year’s Assembly Election is an opportunity to return Michelle O’Neill as First Minister here.
Let’s make that happen.
We approach the thirtieth anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. The conversation on reunification is underway. We can achieve unity referendums by 2030. But preparations must happen now.
Sinn Féin will bring forward legislation before the summer compelling the Irish government to publish a green paper – a detailed discussion on the process of Irish Unity.
And to convene a series of all-Ireland Citizens Assemblies to advance the discussion, the sharing of ideas, and planning for constitutional change.
Keir Starmer and the British Government cannot hold back progress. Cannot stop the march of this nation. They must honour their obligations to hold a unity referendum.
But today, the biggest barrier to planning for Unity is the Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael Government. The days of saying ‘yes to Unity but not now’ must end. They must do what’s right for Ireland.
Lead. Prepare for referendums. Engage with people. Grasp the opportunity of a United Ireland.
That is the patriotic thing to do.
Unity is the means by which we achieve the promise of our whole country. And make no mistake – we are out to fully end British government rule in Ireland.
Our Young People
No one has a greater stake in this united future than our young people. In their confidence, we see the very heartbeat of Ireland. In their challenge to the wrongs of our society and our world.
In their cherishing of all that is precious – Ireland’s songs and stories. Ár teanga dhúchais.
But they are let down again and again.
By a housing crisis that robs them of the start they deserve.
Sending them to Australia, Canada and beyond. Not for adventure only, but to secure the basics of a decent life.
Our best and brightest emigrate when Ireland has never been wealthier.
We vow to end this scandal.
We cannot allow Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael the parties of boarded-up homes, rip-off rents, sky-high house prices, of chronic homelessness robbing families of dignity, children of childhoods – we cannot, we will not allow them to prevail.
Their housing policy is for big developers, vulture funds and corporations. We need a housing plan for workers and families. That means cutting rents and an emergency ban on rent increases.
Getting thousands of derelict homes back into use. Building homes that working people can actually afford.
I want every young person to know – we’re not giving up. We hear you. We have your backs.
You deserve your chance. So, we will keep working for that day. For your day. Our day.
Our future beyond Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. Beyond partition.
Ár dTeanga Náisiúnta Beo
Tá ár dteanga i gcroílár ár bhféiniúlachta mar phobal. Sníonn sí tríd ár stair agus ár streachailt ar son na saoirse.
Tá sí le cloisteáil i mbuille na hathbheochana cultúrtha sa lá atá inniu ann, faoi stiúir glúin nua — glúin atá ag éirí, dóchasach, muiníneach, Gaelach.
Tá sí le feiceáil ó cheann ceann na tíre inár logainmneacha. Insíonn siad ár scéal.
Ní focail amháin iad, ach bealaí smaointeoireachta.
Agus sna Gaeltachtaí —na háiteanna inar mhair an teanga in ainneoin an choilíneachais — tá sí fós beo; ach tá sí faoi bhagairt, agus géarchéim na tithíochta ag cur todhchaí na bpobal i mbaol.
Ní mór don rialtas gníomhú anois chun an Ghaelphobal a chosaint agus a neartú.
A Peaceful World – Freedom, Justice, Solidarity
I want what every parent wants for their daughters and sons. A world that is safe and peaceful.
It’s natural to be worried when that is so shaken. We live in times when military aggression, human rights violations and war crimes happen before our eyes.
Netanyahu’s genocide in Gaza. Putin’s criminal invasion of Ukraine. Trump’s war on Iran. von der Leyen’s billions for the arms industry. We oppose this dangerous ‘might is right’ philosophy.
We call for these wars to end. For the restoration of international law. For the EU, Britain and the US to stop funding Israel’s war machine. Hold them to account for genocide.
Sanction Israel. Show Israel the red card.
No whitewashing. No Sportswashing.
No welcome for the Israeli football team.
And no more excuses, no more delay – pass the Occupied Territories Bill in full.
The people of Ireland, and of the world stand with Palestine.
Defending Ireland’s Neutrality
Ireland’s neutrality is our strength. Our cornerstone as a champion of peace, diplomacy, and human rights.
Rooted in the history of our nation.
Neutrality belongs to the people.
Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are hellbent on dismantling it.
On scrapping the Triple Lock.
With no mandate, no referendum, no honesty. Pushing us closer to EU military cooperation and NATO.
Opening the gates to send Ireland’s sons and daughters to fight colonial wars.
The people of Ireland want no part of this. Won’t stand for Shannon Airport being used for wars of aggression.
We stand by Connolly. We serve neither King nor Kaiser but Ireland.
So, Micheál Martin and Simon Harris, I challenge you to put your plan to scrap the Triple Lock to the people.
You’ll get your answer – hands off Ireland’s neutrality.
Bye Elections
Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael may have survived Sinn Féin’s motion of no confidence.
But they do not have the confidence of the Irish people.
They have lost a Minister and a TD. Two men down.
We were strong enough to take them on. And we forced the first cracks in this government.
But we need to keep the pressure on. Because we need to get them out.
The upcoming by-elections are your chance to hit them harder. To strengthen Sinn Féin’s hand.
I’m asking you, the people of Galway West, to back us. I’m asking you, the people of Dublin Central, to back us.
On the 22nd of May – Votáil Sinn Féin.
Reaching For The Republic
One hundred years ago, Cumann na mBan, introduced the Easter Lily.
A symbol of remembrance of the rebels of 1916.
The Proclamation they declared and defended still inspires us.
The right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of Ireland. Religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities.
Cherishing all the children of the nation equally.
Sinn Féin – our party – is at its strongest since partition. Leading Opposition in the Dáil.
The largest party in the Assembly. Leading the Executive. The biggest political party in Ireland.
We use that strength to fight the corner of workers, families and communities.
Conclusion
I know times are hard. You’re sick of being ripped off. Fed-up of broken promises and not being listened to.
It’s a lot to take.
But you see Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael want you to give in.
The British government wants to keep you in your place.
Don’t give them what they want. Hold tight to your hope for yourself, for your family.
Don’t surrender your hope for Ireland. Not ever.
Irish people don’t give up. We don’t give in. We overcome because we love our country.
And we will overcome. A better future can be won.
Unity.
Freedom.
Equality.
Prosperity for working people and families.
That future calls to each one of us. And, my friends, we will answer.
So, let’s win it now.
Let’s win it together. Let’s win it for Ireland.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh agus An Phoblacht abú!
